Can native speakers fully pronounce tones while singing? Do they give up tones in modern songs?

Listening to lyrics in chinese is a good way to learning the language.

However, to me it sounds like the pitch is often flatened and adapts to the melody rather than the sylable tone. Is it because I am not trained enough to hear the tones? Or is it that tones become less important in songs?

Many English regional accents get reduced in singing also. Examples Beatles talking versus Beatles singing ( and most singers from just about any other English speaking country ). Of course, on the other hand, southern USA accent seems to be exaggerated in many of their songs and people even from New England, Austealia, Canada and Ireland who want to be "country" singers will adopt it while singing.

Tone is equally important in singing and in speaking. You might feel that the tones got flattened a bit due to the melody, but if you really really want to sing well a Chinese songs you have to pay attention to the details - the tones, just like if you want to master your Chinese speaking fluency, you do have to drill and perfect the tones too.

Thank you for sharing the song. A lot of people like that song:) You are welcome to go to my website for tips on learning Chinese and also check out the song list. I have a bunch of songs with pinyin and English translation too, including this song, yes.